The "uncommon" Common Snapping Turtles: Chelydra serpentina serpentina

North America's most recognizable aquatic Turtle, the Common Snapping Turtle, is found in just about any body of slow moving, soft bottomed water, fresh and brackish, from Nova Scotia to Mexico and east of the Rocky Mountains. The Florida Snapping Turtle rules in Florida.

The "uncommon" Hypos come in Black and White, Silver, Yellow, Cream/White, Orange and Red. Their color begins to show at two inches, by three inches they are “glowing.” The Oranges show up at four inches.

The "uncommon" unique Leucistic Snapping Turtle has pinkish skin with shades of blue and white, with yellow highlights. It's eyes are deep blue and it's shell is very light. Behavior and care are the same as normally colored Snapping Turtles. It is so unique there may only be one of it's kind in existence.

And then there is the "uncommon" Cinnamon common snapping turtle which is not hypo or albino or leucistic. They are very light brown/tan with pink feet and pale blue around the eyes. Their undersides are even lighter. Pictured with a normal here you can see the contrast. These Cinnamon Snappers, the first of their kind ever seen, may be the start of“designer snapper”color morphs. No matter what their genetic mutation is - it will be very interesting to add their genes to albinos or hypos.

Common Snapping Turtles (and the "uncommon" varieties of course) will eat anything they can fit in their mouths. Juveniles forage for food, but adults are content to ambush their prey, lying in wait for the next meal wandering by. Because of these tendencies all sizes make excellent tank turtles although not suited to a community tank. Juvenile Snapping Turtles will think another turtle's tail is a worm - and will promptly devour them - even tails of other snappers. In the last century, the taste for Common Snapping Turtles has severely damaged many wild populations resulting in many being farm raised, in the US and abroad. Wild Snapping Turtles are quite vicious but captive raised snappers, if handled often, can tame down substantially (see "Meet Tank" video at end) although they never lose their fiercely vicious feeding response.

Albino snapping turtles, the ultimate "uncommon" common snapping turtle are very rare indeed! If you really want one you can purchase a baby albino snapping turtle from theturtlesource.com for a measly $5000! Why not get a couple to give for Christmas gifts. They are sure to guarantee a white Christmas for your loved ones!

* Snapping turtle’s are gifted at finding dead bodies! At one time they were tasked with locating dead bodies in lakes! They just tied a rope to the turtle and released it under water. When it found a dead body it would stop moving and start to feed on it.

* In 2006 the snapping turtle was voted the state reptile of New York City. It was a sweeping vote of the public elementary school children of New of State.

* A famous American political cartoon in late 1808, one of those first cartoons marking the beginnings of modern political cartooning, portrayed the common snapping turtle depicted in a protest at the Jeffersonian Embargo Act of 1807.

How to Clean a Snapping Turtle

• Cut around the the bottom shell edges cutting through the top and bottom shell joint on each side.
• Lift out the bottom shell like a can's lid nd then remove the entrails.
• Cut the legs and neck off the inside of the top shell.
• Skin the legs and neck. Make the meat tender by parboiling or pressure cooking before putting into your favorite stew.

A Turtle Recipe: One of the best

Cube the meat from one medium-sized turtle

1 chopped large onion,

2-3 chopped cloves garlic,

4-5 cubed potatoes,

2 14.5 oz. cans of peeled tomatoes or 8-10 coarsely chopped fresh tomatoes,

1 11 oz. can of corn.

1. Put a little cooking oil in a hot skillet and brown turtle meat, onions and garlic , (use real hot skillet and drop pieces of meat into the hot oil.) Drain oil when the meat is browned all over and transfer meat, garlic and onions to a Dutch oven. Add tomatoes, potatoes, and corn.
2. Seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and garlic. Just cover ingredients with water, cover and cook for 45 minutes at a high simmer (until you have thoroughly cooked the potatoes).
3. Now the stew is ready. However, if you prefer you can thicken the sauce with a whole wheat flour/water mixture and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes more.

Every year in spring, hordes of mother turtles make their way out of the ponds and watersheds looking for warm, moist areas on slopes to build egg nests.While the males stay behind in the water, the females find a place and dig nests that resemble large, double anthills that they place the eggs in about 10 inches underground.